The 49ers were 13–3 in the regular season for their first winning season in
five years and first playoff appearance in
nine years. The franchise's most successful season to date, it was considered to be "the birth of a dynasty",[1] when the 49ers began a
decade of dominance[broken anchor] over much of the NFL. The 49ers drew an average home attendance of 54,398 in the
1981 season.
The 49ers won
Super Bowl XVI, defeating the AFC Champion
Cincinnati Bengals 26–21. It was the first of five Super Bowl victories in franchise history, all within the next thirteen seasons. From 1981 to 1997, the 49ers would have thirteen NFC West titles, eight NFC top seeds, and seven seasons with the NFL's best regular season record.
Third-year quarterback
Joe Montana began the
1981 season as the starter, and produced two fourth-quarter comeback victories. His signature game of the season was the
NFC Championship Game, which culminated in "
The Catch", a last-minute touchdown pass from Montana to
Dwight Clark, propelling the 49ers to victory over
Dallas, and a berth in their first
Super Bowl. The 49ers were undefeated in their first five Super Bowls.
With the offense in good shape, Walsh and the 49ers focused on overhauling the defense in 1981. Walsh took the highly unusual step of overhauling his entire secondary with rookies and untested players, bringing on board
Ronnie Lott,
Eric Wright and
Carlton Williamson and giving
Dwight Hicks a prominent role. He also acquired veteran linebacker
Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds and veteran defensive lineman and sack specialist
Fred Dean.
These new additions, when added to existing defensive mainstays like
Keena Turner, turned the 49ers into a dominant team. After a 1–2 start, the 49ers won all but one of their final games to finish with a 13–3 record, easily the best record in the team's history. Additionally, the 49ers defense yielded more than 20 points in only three games. Dean and Hicks made the
Pro Bowl. The 49ers selection of Lott in the
1981 NFL Draft proved to be a seminal one. In addition to making the
NFC Pro Bowl roster, Lott was voted First-Team All-Pro and received nods from all 5 newspapers that voted, a significant honor for a rookie. Giants' linebacker
Lawrence Taylor was the only other rookie from the
1981 NFL Draft to achieve this unanimous selection to the First Team All-Pro unit.
Led by Montana, the unusual offense was centered around the short passing game, which Walsh used as ball control. Both Dwight Clark and Freddie Solomon had excellent years receiving; Clark as the possession receiver, and Solomon as more of a deep threat. The 49ers running game, however, was among the weakest for any champion in NFL history. Ricky Patton led the 49ers with only 543 yards rushing. The 49ers' most valuable running back, however, might have been Earl Cooper, whose strength was as a pass-catching back (he had 51 catches during the season).
The Niners’ winning streak ended in a battle of six combined field goals. Opposing quarterbacks
Brian Sipe and Montana combined for 393 yards, three interceptions, and an average passer rating of 56.
The game lead tied or changed eight times as the Rams wound up using quarterbacks
Dan Pastorini and
Pat Haden while running back
Mike Guman threw a seven-yard touchdown to
Preston Dennard.
Amos Lawrence opened the third quarter by scoring on the opening kickoff and
Ronnie Lott scored after intercepting Pastorini.
The Giants were making their first appearance in the postseason since 1963. First-year starting quarterback
Joe Montana led the 49ers to victory in his debut playoff game, completing 20 of 31 passes for 304 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 1 interception. His top target in the game was receiver
Dwight Clark, who caught 5 passes for 104 yards.
1981 NFC Championship Game (Sunday, January 10, 1982): vs. (2)
Dallas Cowboys
The 49ers were making their third appearance in the NFC Championship Game. Their opponent was their opponent for the two previous NFC Championship Games-the Dallas Cowboys. In both previous matches, the 49ers had lost the game. The game is remembered for "
The Catch".
The play, remembered in 49er lore as "Red Right Tight—Sprint Right Option" had called for both the primary receiver, Solomon, and Dwight Clark to line up on the right. Montana was supposed to roll to his right and find Solomon. Clark's pattern called for him to cut left across the end zone, stop, and immediately reverse his path to the right. If Solomon were covered, it would be up to Montana to find Clark. Due to the pressure, Montana's pass was high, but Clark was in position to make his memorable grab. Future
New England Patriots/Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback
Tom Brady, who grew up in the
Bay Area, attended the game as a four-year-old. The 49ers were victorious despite an astonishing six turnovers, including three interceptions by Joe Montana.
A photograph of the catch, with Clark at the height of his leap and
Everson Walls reaching out to try to block the ball, was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated the following week.
The 49ers were 13–3 in the regular season for their first winning season in
five years and first playoff appearance in
nine years. The franchise's most successful season to date, it was considered to be "the birth of a dynasty",[1] when the 49ers began a
decade of dominance[broken anchor] over much of the NFL. The 49ers drew an average home attendance of 54,398 in the
1981 season.
The 49ers won
Super Bowl XVI, defeating the AFC Champion
Cincinnati Bengals 26–21. It was the first of five Super Bowl victories in franchise history, all within the next thirteen seasons. From 1981 to 1997, the 49ers would have thirteen NFC West titles, eight NFC top seeds, and seven seasons with the NFL's best regular season record.
Third-year quarterback
Joe Montana began the
1981 season as the starter, and produced two fourth-quarter comeback victories. His signature game of the season was the
NFC Championship Game, which culminated in "
The Catch", a last-minute touchdown pass from Montana to
Dwight Clark, propelling the 49ers to victory over
Dallas, and a berth in their first
Super Bowl. The 49ers were undefeated in their first five Super Bowls.
With the offense in good shape, Walsh and the 49ers focused on overhauling the defense in 1981. Walsh took the highly unusual step of overhauling his entire secondary with rookies and untested players, bringing on board
Ronnie Lott,
Eric Wright and
Carlton Williamson and giving
Dwight Hicks a prominent role. He also acquired veteran linebacker
Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds and veteran defensive lineman and sack specialist
Fred Dean.
These new additions, when added to existing defensive mainstays like
Keena Turner, turned the 49ers into a dominant team. After a 1–2 start, the 49ers won all but one of their final games to finish with a 13–3 record, easily the best record in the team's history. Additionally, the 49ers defense yielded more than 20 points in only three games. Dean and Hicks made the
Pro Bowl. The 49ers selection of Lott in the
1981 NFL Draft proved to be a seminal one. In addition to making the
NFC Pro Bowl roster, Lott was voted First-Team All-Pro and received nods from all 5 newspapers that voted, a significant honor for a rookie. Giants' linebacker
Lawrence Taylor was the only other rookie from the
1981 NFL Draft to achieve this unanimous selection to the First Team All-Pro unit.
Led by Montana, the unusual offense was centered around the short passing game, which Walsh used as ball control. Both Dwight Clark and Freddie Solomon had excellent years receiving; Clark as the possession receiver, and Solomon as more of a deep threat. The 49ers running game, however, was among the weakest for any champion in NFL history. Ricky Patton led the 49ers with only 543 yards rushing. The 49ers' most valuable running back, however, might have been Earl Cooper, whose strength was as a pass-catching back (he had 51 catches during the season).
The Niners’ winning streak ended in a battle of six combined field goals. Opposing quarterbacks
Brian Sipe and Montana combined for 393 yards, three interceptions, and an average passer rating of 56.
The game lead tied or changed eight times as the Rams wound up using quarterbacks
Dan Pastorini and
Pat Haden while running back
Mike Guman threw a seven-yard touchdown to
Preston Dennard.
Amos Lawrence opened the third quarter by scoring on the opening kickoff and
Ronnie Lott scored after intercepting Pastorini.
The Giants were making their first appearance in the postseason since 1963. First-year starting quarterback
Joe Montana led the 49ers to victory in his debut playoff game, completing 20 of 31 passes for 304 yards and 2 touchdowns, with 1 interception. His top target in the game was receiver
Dwight Clark, who caught 5 passes for 104 yards.
1981 NFC Championship Game (Sunday, January 10, 1982): vs. (2)
Dallas Cowboys
The 49ers were making their third appearance in the NFC Championship Game. Their opponent was their opponent for the two previous NFC Championship Games-the Dallas Cowboys. In both previous matches, the 49ers had lost the game. The game is remembered for "
The Catch".
The play, remembered in 49er lore as "Red Right Tight—Sprint Right Option" had called for both the primary receiver, Solomon, and Dwight Clark to line up on the right. Montana was supposed to roll to his right and find Solomon. Clark's pattern called for him to cut left across the end zone, stop, and immediately reverse his path to the right. If Solomon were covered, it would be up to Montana to find Clark. Due to the pressure, Montana's pass was high, but Clark was in position to make his memorable grab. Future
New England Patriots/Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback
Tom Brady, who grew up in the
Bay Area, attended the game as a four-year-old. The 49ers were victorious despite an astonishing six turnovers, including three interceptions by Joe Montana.
A photograph of the catch, with Clark at the height of his leap and
Everson Walls reaching out to try to block the ball, was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated the following week.